The present invention relates to insulative constructions useful in garments, sleeping bags, air mattresses and the like, wherein the insulative value of the garment or other construction is adjustable by the user. The layered construction of the invention includes an insulative layer which is adhesively fixed in place relative to all other components in the construction, thereby alleviating an existing problem associated with known insulated garments and the like, namely the migration of the insulation within garment components, resulting in undesirable hot and/or cold zones in a construction intended to be uniformly insulative.
Inflatable garments and air mattresses and the like are known. International Patent Publication WO98/10669 (19 Mar. 1998, commonly assigned), discloses an inflatable insulation module for an insulated garment which includes an inner and an outer membrane sealed together to form an inflatable cavity. The membrane is formed of a water-vapor-permeable, breathable material, allowing the escape of moisture from the wearer. The membrane is also air-impermeable to allow inflation of the module, the result being that the insulation value of the garment, for example, may be varied by the user by varying the amount of inflation introduced into the garment.
International Patent Publication WO 01/84989A1 (15 Nov. 2001) discloses a heat insulating device for an item of clothing, including a shell filled with a heat insulating material. Both this device and the aforementioned insulation module include at least one inlet/outlet for introducing a gas (air) therein in order to adjust the insulative value of the garment.
The inherent disadvantages of the known insulating constructions are substantially overcome by the insulative constructions of the present invention, which invention is described fully in the following specification and in the accompanying drawings.